What can be termed a “double wide” in New York parlance, 15 East 81st Street was completed in 1921 for Grenville Lindall Winthrop, the architect was Julius Gayler. A little more than 16,000 square feet in size, built in the Neo-Federal style – reserved red brick facade, entryway framed by an ionic portico, windows with simple white marble lintels. Really one of the better executed and more beautiful homes in the style. What is obviously from almost any photos to be found online, the rear garden has been covered by a greenhouse and has a large swimming pool protected yet open to the sunshine, a very rare commodity in NYC homes.

3 East 75th Street The Stuart Duncan House built by CPH Gilbert in 1904. It was converted into apartments during the Great Depression and has been up until recently a rental building, converted to condo’s in 2004.

The Harkness House at One East 75th Street is a beautifully example of the neo-Italian Renaissance style, built in 1907-08 by James Gamble Rogers of the firm Hale And Rogers as the private home of Edward Harkness. The building lot is relatively thin and elongated, having only 32 feet facing Fifth Avenue and 100 on 75, thus the entrance was placed on the side street so as to allow for a better layout and access to light on the interiors. Height-wise the building is in total seven stories, two are underground and the top floor is set back beyond a stone balustrade, providing an appearance of only four stories, understated elegance and a modest lack of ostentation, save for the beautiful wrought iron fence around the property which is considered by many, us included, to be one of the finest examples of cast iron work in the city.

Throughout his life Edward Harkness can perhaps best be called a philanthropist, having not worked so much as managed his families wealth and given back to society, when he died January 29th 1940, he left the home to his wife Mary, but instructed that on her passing his fortune would be given to education and charitable organizations. The house on 75th was given to The Commonwealth Fund, of which Edwards mother Anna had founded in 1918, and is today still their headquarters.

A palatial townhouse mansion that while easily overlooked as one strolls by, is hard to miss in the rarified circles of Manhattan real estate. The house is one of the former Woolworth family homes and has been on the market for just under $100 million. The home was a gift of Frank Woolworth to his daughter Helena (Mrs. Charles) McCann – 2 East 80th and 6 East 80th were also in the Woolworth family and were also gifts by Frank to his two other daughters, Edna (Mrs. Franklyn) Hutton and Jessie (Mrs. James) Donahue respectively.

The home was designed by Charles P. H. Gilbert in the French Gothic style. The façade is of limestone, with a cavernous 35 foot width on the street. The home boast 10 bedrooms, 11 and half baths and 3 kitchens. The home was previously owned by Lucille Roberts who purchased it for $6 million in 1995 and owned it until her passing in 2003.

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